Castlevania Millennium
by striker
Summary: On the eve of the new millennium Dracula returns to seek revenge on the Belmont family. Now a new generation of Belmonts must team up with Alucard and some unlikly allies to stop him. Please RR.
1. Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated to Castlevania. Konami has that honor. The original characters and story belong to me.

Nearly a thousand years ago a knight by the name of Mathias Cronqvist sold his soul to darkness. Using the power of the crimson stone, one of the four alchemy stones that would together grant immortality, to become a powerful vampire. Renaming himself Vlad Tepes Dracula he began a conquest of the world, using an army of evil creatures to enslave mankind. However, there were those that opposed him. Leon Belmont, a former ally of Dracula, had sworn that his decedents would continue to fight Dracula and eventually defeat him. So it came to pass that the Vampire Killer whip was passed down through the centuries and each generation of Belmont trained to destroy evil. The first Belmont to defeat Dracula was Sonia Belmont. Upon his defeat Dracula vowed to return as long as evil remained in the world. Time and again Dracula would return and just like the time before it he would be beaten by the Belmont clan and their allies. In addition, Dracula had tried to destroy the Belmonts, but each time his schemes ended in failure. In time the Belmont name changed but the bloodline stayed the same. Eventually the family moved from Europe to America where the Belmont name was once again taken up. Despite the years of peace since Dracula's last defeat, the Belmonts continued to train and wait, preparing for the next conflict. Unbeknownst to them, the dawning of the new millennium would drastically change the family forever.

Castlevania

Millennium

By: Striker

Chapter One: Awakening

It was New Years Eve at the Belmont household in upstate New York. The Belmont mansion was buzzing with life. Carl and Alexandra Belmont walked through the house greeting their guests. As second-generations Belmonts living in the United States they had made a fortune in the real estate business. Carl was in his early forties with brown hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in a tux. Alexandra had her long, brown hair braided as her green eyes sparkled with joy. She was in her late thirties. She was wearing a light blue gown and a gold necklace. As Carl and his wife moved to the dinning room they were met by one of Carl's business partners. "How nice to see to you here Wilson." Carl said.

"I wouldn't miss this for the world." Wilson said. "Your New Years Eve party is the event of the year. So, how did you do in the stock market?"

"As well as I wanted." Carl replied. "I'm not into it as much as you. One word of advice though, I wouldn't throw so much money into risky companies. You may end up loosing it all."

Wilson laughed. "You can't get anywhere if you don't take risks. By the way, where are your children? I haven't seen them around at all tonight."

"They're upstairs in Eric's room." Alexandra said. "They're with their friends. They don't seem to prefer the high society life that much."

"It's a shame." Wilson said. "They're still young. Sooner or later they'll come around."

Carl nodded. "I'm sure you're right."

* * *

"Man, did you guys see how many rich people are down there?" Paul asked. "Your parents sure are popular with the upper crust." 

Eric sighed and leaned against his pillow. He and his friends were in his room along with his sister Cheryl. Eric was just about to turn twenty one and had his father's hair and his mother's eyes. He was dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. Cheryl was sitting in the chair to Eric's desk. She had blue eyes and her brown hair was pulled in a ponytail. She was one year younger than Eric and was dressed in a similar fashion. At the other end of Eric's bed was Amanda Brewer. She was also twenty and had shoulder length black hair and brown eyes. She had on jeans and a green turtleneck. On the floor were Paul Slone and Kristy Kincaid. Paul was nineteen with red hear and green eyes. He had on a grey sweater and tan dress slacks. Kristy was twenty one and had long blond hair and blue eyes. She had on a red sweater and blue jogging pants. They were currently watching MTV's New Years Special. Eric stared up at the ceiling of his room. "It's not like I care. I don't go for that rich kid crap. Besides, I have friends who like me for me, not because my parents are loaded, right?" Eric looked at Paul and Kristy.

Paul grinned. "You got that right, but if you ask me I think Amanda and Kristy may be gold-diggers."

"Screw you Paul." Kristy fired back. "The only reason I'm here is because Cheryl invited me over. If she told me that you would be here I'd have called in sick." She turned to Cheryl and winked.

Cheryl giggled at her friend. "Yeah, you two really don't get along well together. I'm surprised Kristy hasn't kicked your ass first, Paul."

"That's because Kristy's a bitch." Paul jeered.

"And Paul's a prick." Cheryl retorted.

"So why aren't you downstairs with your family?" Amanda asked. "I thought you're supposed to take over the family business?"

Eric shook his head. "I'm doing things my own way. Besides, I enjoy hanging out with you guys more than those stuck up snobs."

"Speaking of our family where the hell is Craig?" Cheryl asked. "He was supposed to be bringing us snacks."

Just then Craig entered the room, holding two bottles of Pepsi and a couple of bags of chips and pretzels. He was eighteen with brown hair and green eyes. He had on a white T-shirt and shorts. "Your food has arrived. It's nothing like the stuff we had earlier, but hey it tastes just as good."

"It's the middle of winter." Kristy said. "Why are you wearing shorts?"

"Because I'm in here instead of out there." Craig replied, pointing to the TV. "Let's face it; I don't know why those people would want to stand outside in freezing cold weather when they could be in a nice heated home. It's only a disco ball on a stick. It's going to drop no matter where you are."

"You have a point there." Cheryl said. "Except this year the whole thing is supposed to be special."

"Yeah, when the clock strikes twelve all the computers are going to get set back to the Stone Age." Amanda said.

"I heard the world is supposed to blow up." Paul added.

Kristy scoffed. "Besides, everyone knows the millennium starts next year."

"As far as I'm concerned it a new year but the same old shit." Craig said. "So let's eat."

Kristy eyed Craig. "Where are the cups?"

"Huh?" Craig asked. "Oh, I thought I forgot something. I feel like an idiot."

"What are we supposed to do, pour the soda down our throats?" Paul asked sarcastically.

Eric got off his bed and headed for the door. "I'll get some from downstairs. I'll be right back."

"Have fun avoiding the fat cats." Amanda said as Eric left the room.

* * *

Eric descended the front stairs and headed for the kitchen. He was about to pass the front door when someone knocked on it. "I guess I'll get it." Eric opened the door and found a man in a black trench coat. His jet black hair was slicked back and he had a goatee. "Who the hell are you?" Eric asked. 

"I'm here to see your father." The man replied.

"Why do you want to see him?" Eric asked.

The man stared at Eric. "It's important. He's expecting me and you're wasting my time, time I don't have." The man pushed his way past Eric and made a bee line for Carl. He approached Carl and tapped him on the shoulder. "Carl Belmont, I must speak to you. Is there some place we can talk alone?"

Carl seemed to recognize the man. "Yes, we can go to my study. I was wondering when you would show. Do you need to speak to my wife as well?"

The man nodded. "It would be convenient if I could. We should go to the study now."

Eric followed his father and the stranger as Carl got Alexandra and led her to the study. Alexandra ushered the other guests out as Eric walked up to her. "Mom, what's going on? Who is that man and what does he want with you?"

"Honey, we need to be alone." Alexandra said. "Go back to your room."

"But I want to know…" Eric began.

He was cut off by his father. "Eric, I need to talk to this man and we can't be distracted. Don't concern yourself with our business. Now leave." As Carl closed the door the stranger stared intensely at Eric.

Eric stood in from of the study for a few seconds before going to the kitchen. "Who is that guy, and how does he know my parents?"

* * *

Amanda held up her hand, her fingers glowing. "You know, I'm starting to get more control over it. Part of me is scared and yet part of me is excited." 

Kristy leaned over towards her. "That's freaky. How long has this been happening to you?"

"Since I was twelve." Amanda replied. "So far you are the only people besides my parents who know this."

"It's a good thing." Paul said. "If anyone else in our school knew they'd want to burn you at the stake."

Craig held up a bean bag. "Come on Amanda, do it again. Blast this thing."

Cheryl gave her brother an annoyed look. "This isn't a skeet shooting range and that's our brother's. He'll kill us if Amanda blows that up."

"No he won't." Paul said. "She could burn this house down and he wouldn't be mad at her. All she has to do is give him those doe eyes and he's putty in her hands."

Amanda pointed her glowing hand at Paul. "Watch it buddy, I'm armed and dangerous."

"So let's do this." Craig said. "Pull!" Craig threw the bean bag into the air. Amanda pointed her hand at it and a bolt of white light shot from it, hitting the bag and blowing it up. Beans rained down on everyone as they laughed.

Eric entered with plastic cups in hand. Everyone immediately pointed at Amanda. "She did it!"

"You guys wanted me too." Amanda said in defense. She turned to Eric and saw the troubled look on his face. "What happened to you?"

Eric set the cups down. "Some strange guy dressed in black showed up. I never saw him in my life but our parents seemed to know him. They went into the study and wouldn't tell me anything."

"Maybe it's a government spook." Paul said. "Maybe your parents are secret agents working for the U.S. Government?"

"That would explain why they're so rich." Kristy added. "Maybe they have an entrance to their secret hideout in the fireplace."

Craig laughed. "If there was a secret door anywhere in this house I would have found it."

Kristy leaned close to Craig. "Maybe you did but your parents caught you and wiped you memory."

"This isn't funny." Eric snapped. "This has really got me worried. This guy forced his way into this house and ordered mom and dad around. He had them scared for some reason I don't know about."

Cheryl stood up. "I say we barge in there and demand to know what is going on. Amanda can blast the door down if she has too."

Craig joined in. "Yeah, we should grab Mr. tall, dark, and scary and find out what he's doing here."

Amanda tried to be the voice of reason and chimed in. "Maybe you're making this into something it isn't. If it's important then maybe your parents will tell you. We should just wait."

"Screw that." Kristy said. "No one storms into my friends' house and pushes their parents around."

"Yeah, I feel like giving that guy a piece of my mind." Paul said. There was a knock at Eric's door to which Paul ran over and threw open the door. "Yeah…" Paul found himself looking at the stranger.

"Tell me, what were you planning on doing once you confronted me?" The man asked.

Paul backed up with his hands in front of him. "Nothing really, just wanted to say hi."

Eric walked up to the man. "Who are you and why are you here? How do you know my parents and what did you talk to them about?"

"It has to do with you." The man replied. "Or more importantly, your family. I need you and your siblings to come with me right now. I'm not going to bother explaining, you will learn soon enough. We must go now."

"Listen buddy, these guys don't go unless we go." Kristy said.

"You may be able to boss around their parents, but you won't be able to intimidate us." Amanda added.

Craig nodded and crossed his arms. "So why don't you just spill it now."

The man looked at each of the young adults. "This only concerns the Belmont children, not the rest of you. It's none of your business."

"Forget that, whatever concerns them concerns us too." Kristy said defiantly.

"We're a team." Paul said. "Always have and always will be. Whatever is going on we're sticking by them."

"This is the deal, either all of us go or none of us go." Eric said. "If you don't like that, then you're wasting your time."

The man's expression remained unchanged as he spoke. "Fine, bring your friends. But let me guarantee you this that they will wish they stayed out of this. We leave immediately." The man then turned to Craig. "And I suggest you put on something warmer than that. I'll be downstairs." The man left, leaving Eric and his group to wonder about what they were going to learn.

* * *

Eric's group approached the front door. The man stood next to Eric's parents. Eric walked over to his father. "Dad, what is this all about? Who is this man? What's going on?" 

"Something I hoped would never happen in your time." Carl replied. "Go with him, he's a friend of our family. You can trust him."

"Be careful Cheryl, Craig." Alexandra said. "And I think it would be best if your friends remained behind."

"We would feel better if they came with us." Cheryl said. "We'll be back soon."

"We should leave." The man said. "We don't have time for idle chatter. They will be safe with me Carl, you have my word." The man led Eric, Cheryl, Craig, and their friends out of the house and into the night.

* * *

The man led the group to a church several miles from the Belmont's house. As they approached Paul stared at the building. "Don't tell me this guy is taking us to church?" 

"What are we doing in the middle of nowhere?" Craig asked. "I thought you were going to tell us something?"

"The answers you seek lie within." The man said. "Follow me." The group followed the man into the church. As they neared the alter the man called out. "I have brought the Belmont children here. We can begin."

Several individuals emerged from the shadows. Among them was a man that appeared in his fifties with grey hair. Alongside him was a young woman with long red hair and blue eyes. A large muscular black man with brown eyes and his black hair in a crew cut stood behind her. To the other side of the older gentleman was a tall lanky man with spiked white hair and green eyes. Other people stood in the shadows. The grey-haired man, who appeared to be the leader, spoke out. "Finally, I get to meet Belmont family. I've waited for this day for a long time."

"We must hurry, it has already begun." The stranger said. He turned to Eric and the other. "First of all, let me introduce myself. My name is Alucard. I am an old ally of your family. This man is Gregory. He is the leader of this vampire clan."

"Vampires?" Cheryl asked. "You're telling us that all these people are vampires." Cheryl pointed around the room. She then pointed to Alucard. "Let me guess, you're a vampire too."

"Actually he's a Dhampir." Gregory said. "He's half vampire and half human. For centuries he's fought alongside the Belmont family. As for us, we are all vampires who have allied ourselves with Alucard. As Alucard said I am the leader of this clan and these are my most trusted members. The woman's name is Sophia. The large man is called Reis, and the white haired man is Drew. We have gathered you here in order to warn you that Dracula has returned."

"Dracula is some character from a novel." Paul said. "There have also been a whole lot of movies made about him. The guy is some monster some writer thought up. He doesn't exist, and neither do vampires."

"I think this is a waste of our time." Eric said. "We should go back to our house."

"Your parents never told you the truth, did they?" Gregory asked. "They never told you the history of your family line."

"What about our family history?" Craig asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"It has everything to do with what is happening." Alucard said. "Your parents should have told you by now, but they believed they still had time."

Gregory stepped towards Eric and his siblings as he continued. "Your family is unique. Within your blood lies the power to destroy our kind. For centuries your family has hunted the night and slain many a vampire with their own hands. This power has been carried through the Belmont bloodline since your great ancestor Leon Belmont first swore an oath to combat his friend who betrayed him and humanity in exchange for power. The man's name was Mathias Cronqvist. He used a relic to transform himself into the being that would become known as Vlad Tepes Dracula. For the last millennia generations of Belmonts have battled Dracula's forces and have won. Unfortunately Dracula has never been beaten permanently. After each defeat he would hibernate for a hundred years before returning to take his revenge. However, rarely would that happen, as others with dark desires would awaken him from his slumber prematurely or he would retreat for a few years while he plotted for revenge. So far all these battles have taken place in Romania in Transylvania, the last one taking place in 1917. During that time the Belmont surname had disappeared through marriage but the power in their blood remained the same. However, in the 1940s during the Second World War your father's parents immigrated to America and in the process once again resurrected the Belmont name in order to start a new life. While they adjusted to life in America they never forgot their family's mission. Your parents knew that one day you would face Dracula. It seems though that you may have to fight him sooner than they thought."

"Wait a minute." Cheryl said. "You said that Dracula takes a hundred year nap every time he gets his ass kicked. Shouldn't he still be sleeping?"

Paul nodded in agreement. "Don't these guys have at least seventeen years to go?"

Gregory shook his head. "Sadly that is not the case. It seems that the Prince of Darkness swore upon his last defeat that he would return when the stars were right. That time happens to be on the eve of the new millennium. It is now that the planets have aligned for we have felt his evil growing for the past few weeks. As of now we fully feel his dark power. It was Alucard who warned us, for he as Dracula's son can sense his father's power more than we can. Soon he will rally his forces and once again declare war on humanity."

"I guess Alucard was right, we didn't want to come here." Kristy said to Amanda. Amanda in turn agreed.

Sophia stepped forward. "You'll be glad you did."

"Your friends in a way might have just saved your life." Reis added.

"Though my father may not have regained all of his strength, he will seek vengeance on your family." Alucard said.

Eric looked back and forth between Alucard and Gregory. "You're saying that he's going to attack us?"

Gregory looked at Eric, a grim look on his face. "After his first several defeats Dracula knew that as long as the Belmont bloodline continued he would never rule the world. Every time he resurrected he had a new plan in which to destroy the Belmonts. Kidnapping, curses, manipulation, he tried them all. In the end he failed every time. Now I fear that he will take a more simplified and direct approach. He may try to kill your family before any of you can move against him."

"Shouldn't we warn mom and dad?" Craig said. "We have to go right now."

"If you go, you will die." Alucard said. "Your parents had me take you to prevent that. They knew full well that Dracula will attack. We needed to make sure you survived."

"Why?" Cheryl asked. "If they knew this why didn't they come with us?"

"For you will be the ones that will destroy Dracula, not them." Gregory replied.

Eric clenched his fists. "I'm not going to stand here and let my parents die. I'm going home."

"We'll go with you." Amanda said. The rest of the group followed Eric out of the church.

Gregory tried to stop them. "If you go now, you may die and with you the only hope humanity may have." He watched as Eric, Cheryl, Craig, and their friends left.

"They're dead." Drew said.

"We better start looking for more Belmonts." Sophia added.

Alucard headed for the door of the church. "They are the only ones. I'll go and help them. I only pray that I'm not too late."

* * *

Eric and his party neared his house. As they walked they talked about what they had just heard. "What a bunch of BS." Craig said. "Those guys must have been watching too many horror movies." 

"Don't they know that vampires are mythical creatures superstitious people made up a hundred years ago?" Kristy said.

Paul nodded. "This sounds like some plot from one of those crappy video games."

Cheryl turned to Eric. He older brother has a serious look on his face. "Eric, do you honestly believe anything those people said?"

"They sounded serious enough when they said our parents are in danger." Eric replied. "Also mom and dad did looked spooked around that Alucard guy. Whether they're lying or not if mom and dad are in trouble I'm not going to stand around and do nothing."

They group kept walking. Amanda was the first to notice something wrong. "Hey, there looks like something is on fire." She pointed to a reddish glow in the distance.

"That's coming from the direction of our house." Craig said. The group began running to the source of the fire. They soon realized that it was coming from the Belmont house.

Eric ran through the front gate and found the house engulfed in flames. Half the walls had collapsed. The dead bodies of guests littered the yard. "Oh shit, they were right." Eric said to himself.

Cheryl pushed herself past her brother. She stood wide-eyed and shocked at what she saw. She tried to say something, but no words would come out.

Amanda broke the silence. "Who could have done this?"

"It must have been those psychos!" Paul said. "All that talk about Dracula and vampires, they probably had someone do this just so they could be right."

Craig looked around the yard. "Where're mom and dad? Are they still inside?" He stopped when he saw his parent's bodies. Carl was lying over Alexandra, like he was trying to shield her. "Oh no, mom."

Cheryl saw her parent's bodies and ran over to them. She fell on her knees next to her parents and began to cry. Craig ran up and tried to comfort her. Eric meanwhile looked at the scene, rage building inside him. "Whoever did this will pay."

"This is insane." Kristy said. She looked at the bodies and noticed something strange. "Guys, is it me or does it look like some animal killed these people?" Kristy pointed at one of the bodies. Across the man's back were large claw marks. Some of the bodies were scorched, like they had been hit by a flamethrower. "I don't think people did this."

"You're right." Paul said, looking at the bodies. "Half these people look like they were torn apart." A shining object caught his attention. "Where the hell did that come from?" Paul pointed at a large sickle that was imbedded in the ground.

"What about these?" Amanda asked. She pointed at several tracks that ran over the whole yard. "Some of these look like hoof prints. The others look like they belong to some large animal, like a reptile." Amanda shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but it's like monsters attacked this house."

"We shouldn't have left." Cheryl sobbed. "We should have stayed here."

"If we did we'd be dead too." Craig said. He punched the ground. "Those people were right. They were right all this time and we didn't believe them. And why didn't Alucard bring mom and dad with us if they knew this was going to happen?"

Amanda walked over to Eric. "What are we going to do? We can't stay here. Whatever killed these people and your parents may still be here."

"I want to talk to Alucard and Gregory. If what they told us is true I want them to tell me where Dracula is." Eric replied bitterly. "Why didn't mom and dad come with us? If they knew this was going to happen why didn't we just run?"

"Where would you have gone?" Everyone turned to find Alucard standing by the gate. "No matter where you ran Dracula and his minions would have found you. Your parents knew the danger they were in. They knew that one day Dracula would seek his revenge. Even if you were here in your current state you could not have changed anything. You would be next to your parents. I fear that this is only the beginning. As long as you live Dracula will always try to destroy your family. That is the curse that comes with your power."

Cheryl stood up and ran over to Alucard, tears still streaming down her face. "Then we kill him first."

"Tell us where Dracula is." Eric said. "We'll kill him and whoever else was responsible for this."

Kristy and the others joined him. "We'll help too. We're not about to let our friends do this alone."

"Yeah, whatever things were here are going to wish they never messed with the Belmonts." Paul added.

Alucard looked over the group. "Do not think that it'll be that easy. You won't be able to defeat Dracula, not without the proper training and weapons." Alucard turned towards the sound of sirens. "We should go, there's nothing we can do here. I will see to it that you get the training you need. I have fought beside Belmonts in the past, and I will do so now. You will have your revenge." Alucard led Eric's group away from the Belmont house as fire trucks and police cars approached.

* * *

**Author's notes: Ah, the first chapter done of my first Castlevania story. A new battle had begun between the Belmonts and Dracula's forces. The only question is why would vampires be helping the Belmonts? While it doesn't make any sense, it'll all be explained in the next chapter. Almost all the main players are in place and soon the training and battles will begin. Until then read my other stuff. Bye.**

_Directions of wooden stake - Insert pointy end into vampire's heart. Watch for spray of blood._


	2. Training

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated to Castlevania. Konami has that honor. The original characters and story belong to me.

Castlevania

Millennium

By: Striker

Chapter Two: Training

Gregory sighed with relief as Alucard led the Belmonts and their friends into the church. He approached them and began to speak. "It's fortunate that you were not killed. Now we may stand a chance against Dracula. We must immediately commence with your training if you are to defend yourselves against Dracula's onslaught. I trust that your friends will accompany you as well, so they will be trained with you. In the past the Belmonts relied on allies to assist them as well, for this is one battle that can not be won alone."

"I only have one question." Craig said. "You're all vampires and our family kills your kind. Why the hell are you helping us?"

"To ensure the survival of our kind." Gregory replied. "It is true that in the past we vampires sought to rule over mankind. Many of us saw Dracula as our savior, a man that would lead us to greatness. However, there were those that hated him since he was neither born nor made a vampire by normal means. As I told you before Dracula was made a vampire by using the crimson stone, one of the four stones of alchemy. Because of how he got his powers some would not follow him, but the rest did. We honestly believed that we were so close to taking over this world. But as with anything time has changed our views. Back then we were many, but as time wore on we became few. We are victims of our own greed. The more we tried to enslave humanity the more humans resisted and hunted us down. While the Belmont family was concerned primarily with Dracula, they and other vampire hunters destroyed many of us. Fortunately my kind has learned from our grievous mistakes. We wish only to exist with humanity, not against it. Now we live in the fringes of human society coexisting with your kind. Our survival is aided by the belief that vampires are a product of movies or novels. These days we work amongst you, live amongst you, all without you knowing. There are a few people who know of our existents and help us to secure the blood we need from blood banks and slaughterhouses. Most of us have become used to animal blood and some will not drink human blood at all. There are some who will not drink from a human even if their life depends on it. As you can see we are far different from what we used to be. Only through these changes to our society in the past hundred years have we managed to survive."

"So why would you want to stop Dracula?" Kristy asked. "Wouldn't you be happy that he's back?"

"He's as much a threat to vampires and he is to humans." Alucard answered. "My father is set on conquering the world. He will try to rally all vampires to his cause and expose them to the world, undoing all that they have done to survive. While there are a few who would follow, not all vampires wish for war as it would lead to the destruction of their species as well as you humans. In fact, my father would probably see them as weak and kill them himself. Things have changed since the last time my father was awake. Humanity is not equipped or prepared to oppose him. You are the only ones who can."

Gregory turned to Alucard. "I believe it is time to give him the whip."

Alucard nodded. "It is time for you to accept your destiny Eric." Alucard motioned to the vampires standing next near him. Sophia, Reis, and Drew each brought out a case. "Within each of these cases are weapons made to eliminate Dracula and his army. You will be trained on how to use them." Reis stepped towards Eric and opened his case. Inside was a whip. "This whip has been passed down through your family since your ancestor Leon Belmont first used it to slay another vampire." Alucard said. "The Vampire Killer Whip has been passed on to the person most worthy of the Belmonts to wield it. As the oldest child you were going to be trained in how to use it. Take it now and become its master."

Eric took the whip and held it close to his face to examine it. As he held it he felt a surge of power go through him. "What the hell was that?"

"The whip holds great power." Gregory said. "It contains chaotic energy lethal to us. Alucard himself has felt its power on several occasions. It will serve you well."

"What about us?" Cheryl asked.

"What are you going to give us?" Craig added.

Sophia stepped forward. "See for yourself." She and Drew opened their cases. Inside there were a broadsword and a pair of short swords. Both had shining silver blades.

Alucard motioned for Cheryl and Craig to take them. "The Belmont who was destined to receive the Vampire Killer Whip first trained with these. These swords were crafted from silver than had been mixed with Belmont blood. While anyone can use them their true power will only come out if a Belmont wields them. These will now be your weapons."

Craig took the broadsword and stepped back before swinging it. "This thing's light. I thought it would be heavy."

Cheryl took the short swords. "So if we get these, what do our friends get?"

"That will be decided later." Gregory said.

"I don't think Amanda needs a weapon." Paul said. "She has those magic missiles."

Gregory turned to Amanda. "Is that true?" Amanda replied by nodding. Gregory pointed towards a candelabrum. "Would you mind demonstrating?" Amanda held out her hand. It soon began to glow. She fired a bolt at the candelabrum, destroying it.

Sophia whistled. "She may be related to Carrie Fernandez."

"Who is she?" Amanda asked.

"One of the people who fought against Dracula and aided the Belmonts." Alucard said. "She had powerful magical abilities. It's possible that you might share her blood or that it may come from a different family. Whatever the case your magic may be useful to us."

"So when does the training begin?" Eric asked.

"We leave tonight for your training grounds." Gregory said. "I will accompany you, as well Sophia, Reis, and Drew. We will lend our power to help you. It will be difficult, so be prepared for anything."

The group prepared to leave, unaware that a pair of crows with blood-red eyes was watching their every move.

* * *

"I told you to ensure that none survived!" Dracula bellowed. He stormed back and forth through the cold, dark crypt. "The Belmont line still lives on. If I am to conquer this world I can not have any Belmont still breathing. Explain to me how you could have failed at such a simple task?" He stopped and leaned against the stone wall.

"You are still weak from your slumber." Death coolly said. "You should rest until your strength returns to your body."

Dracula glared at his henchman. "How can I rest when I know that my most hated enemy still lives? For almost a millennium I have tried to fulfill my dreams. Each time those cursed Belmonts rob me of it. And now the perfect moment to strike has been lost because of your incompetence. How could you let them escape?"

His generals cowered before Dracula's rage. Death stood next to Medusa, the Death Knight, the Bone Dragon, the Minotaur, and the Succubus. The Minotaur spoke first. "When we arrived the children were not there. We searched the grounds but found no trace of them."

"They must have been warned by someone." The Death Knight said in a low, hollow voice. "We believe that it may have been Alucard."

"Alucard." Dracula spat with disdain. "My beloved son has opposed me again. His bleeding heart for humanity sickens me. If only he would come to his senses we could rule as father and son."

"His human side has corrupted him." Death said. "A curse he has inherited from his human mother. You should have killed her when you had the chance."

Dracula straightened and pointed at Death. "Never talk that way about one of the only women I ever loved. I will never forget how she was taken away from me by people serving God's will. He has taken everything from me, and so I shall cover this land in darkness. But as long as a single Belmont lives I will never achieve that."

Medusa slithered towards him. "Fear not my lord, for they are weak and untrained. They shall be easy to kill." The Bone Dragon growled in agreement.

"During my time in the Belmont mansion the children were never even told about their bloodline." The Succubus said. She flew across the room and landed next to Dracula. She hung over his shoulder and stroked his face. "They will be killed in due time. Not even your son will stop us."

Dracula shoved the Succubus off of him. "Do not take them so lightly. Many a time I believed that my plans would work, but each time the Belmont family survived. The time for that has passed. The only way to make sure my enemies are crushed is to kill them. All of you have tasted the Belmont clans' fury before. You should not underestimate them now."

"But my lord, they have no training." The Minotaur said. "They shall fall."

"Fool." Death replied. "Alucard has already warned them. He will no doubt begin to train them. Our time to destroy them is quickly slipping away. He may even have allies that we don't know about."

The Death Knight chuckled. "We shall soon see. I left my spies at the mansion in case the Belmont children were foolish enough to return. We will know soon enough who is assisting them."

Dracula smiled wickedly. "If they did it may serve us well. The Belmonts may act out of anger and attack us before they are ready. We may use that to our advantage."

Suddenly one of the crows flew into the room. "My spy returns." The Death Knight said. The crow landed on his shoulder. After listening to its report he turned to Dracula. "My lord, it seems that your son had help from other vampires. The Belmonts were also given the weapons, including the whip."

What was left of Dracula's good mode dissipated? "They have the whip? Who gave it to them?"

"It seems that Alucard was in possession of it." The Death Knight hesitantly replied. "He is being assisted by a vampire named Gregory. One of their group also has magical powers."

"It is a sad truth, but most vampires in this time wish to live with the humans." Medusa said. "Things have changed from the time you last walked this Earth."

Dracula hung his head. "Betrayed by my own kind. It won't matter; I will destroy the Belmonts and any who get in my way. Nothing will stop me this time."

"My other spy will follow them and find out where they are going." The Death Knight said. "When we learn where they are what should we do?"

"I will not allow them to get any stronger." Dracula said. "However, we can't risk attacking them directly and lose the element of surprise. We will let them reveal their weakness to us. Watch them, and when they let their guard down we will eliminate them."

* * *

The mid-morning sun shone upon the training facility Gregory had provided. There were several large buildings forming a C shape. A wall ran along the parameter of the grounds with a gate that opened onto a private road. The largest building in the center of the formation was reserved for meetings and served as the mess hall. The long building to its right contained the living quarters for everyone. At the end opposite the main building was a garage for several vehicles. The last building to the left of the main building had a gym and recreational facilities. The driveway leading from the gate split with one road leading behind the rec. building for deliveries and the other road lead up to the garage. In the center was the training field. Here the Belmonts and their allies trained.

Eric was practicing with his whip. He struck several candles, taking out the flames. Cheryl and Craig practiced against sparing partners. The training facility had a large staff that was hired by Gregory to help in the training as well as run the facilities. Elsewhere in the field Amanda practiced shooting down clay disks shot by one of the staff. Paul and Kristy were training with the weapons they had been given. Paul practiced with his ax, smashing plastic targets. Kristy spared with a trainer with her lance. All the while Alucard monitored their progress. He got them up before dawn every day and trained them into the night. It was a difficult regime, but Alucard knew it would pay off. The team had little time off, thought Alucard did give them time to rest and relax. After weeks of training the Belmont team had begun to show results.

Inside the rec. building Sophia, Drew, and Reis also trained. They couldn't go out into the sun, so they trained indoors during the day. Sophia practiced with her weapon, a circular shaped throwing blade. She sliced up several pots with her blade. Reis meanwhile practiced with his mace. He smashed several stone blocks, barely breaking a sweat. Drew practiced with a set of hand claws. He had finished cutting through some boards and was now practicing his different strikes.

Reis slammed his mace into the floor, cracking the ground and shaking the room. "Any of you think that we don't need training? I think that all we're doing is playing bodyguard to those kids."

The vibrations from Reis's mace caused Sophia to miss her target. "Dammit Reis, why do you have to be such an asshole?"

"Alucard has us training night _and _day." Reis said. "Why the hell is that?"

"Because we need less sleep than the humans." Drew replied.

Reis stared at Drew with an expressionless look. "That's not what I mean. Why are we going thought this? Alucard continuously works us every day. No one told me this was going to happen when I agreed to help those Belmonts."

Sophia put her hands on her hips and raised her eyebrow. "Are you questioning Gregory's wishes?"

Reis shook his head. "I would never question him. It's because of him that we're alive. What I am saying is that we're not the ones who need training, those infants do."

"You're just pissed because that guy with the ax almost took off your pretty little head." Drew mockingly said. "Come to think of it that one chick almost turned me into a kebob with that spear."

"I'm impressed that they have gotten this good in a short time." Sophia said. "They appear to be natural fighters. It must really be destiny that they came together."

"We'll see what happens when they get into a real battle." Reis said. "I'm taking a break. If Alucard complains, tell him I don't care."

Drew watched Reis leave the room. "What crawled up his ass?"

"He's always been that way." Sophia said. "We better get back to work."

Craig sat down and yawned. He had just beat his sparing partner and decided to take a break. "I'm beat. I know we have to get good with these weapons so we can kick Dracula's ass but we need a day off."

"Quit your complaining." Cheryl said, avoiding a jab from her sparing partner and parrying another. "Alucard said that we need to get better or we won't stand a chance against him or any of his servants."

"Craig's right. We've been at this for the past month and we haven't had a single break." Paul said. He set down his ax and turned to Alucard. "Hey, why don't you give us a vacation? We're not slaves you know."

Kristy leaned on her lance. "For once I have to agree with Paul. We're not machines. If you keep pushing us this hard we're going to get worn out."

Alucard crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "We will continue your training. You must be ready to battle my father's army at any time. To do that you must be better than you are now."

"All we want is one day or two to relax without having to run five miles." Craig said. "We're human; we need to have a little fun once and a while."

"You can't afford to have fun." Alucard replied, staring blankly at Craig. "You must keep your guard up at all times. My father is still hunting you and he will do whatever it takes to kill you before you get strong enough to defeat him. All he needs is one opportunity and you're all dead." A whistle blew signifying that it was time for lunch. "Get something to eat and get back to your training." Alucard headed for the main building before Eric stopped him.

"I understand that you've had experience fighting Dracula, but maybe you are pushing us too much. We need time to rest. Maybe we can have just one day of no training so we can recover. If we don't I'm afraid one or all of us are going to burn out and break down. I believe we can afford a vacation. And if Dracula does attack we'll be ready for anything he throws at us."

Alucard shook his head. "Others of your family made the mistake of underestimating my father. They though they could deal with any of Dracula's plans. My father is a master of taking advantage of people who think that way. He uses their confidence against them, luring them into a false sense of security before striking. With him trying to kill you and your siblings before you can be a threat to him we must be extremely careful. We'll continue as we have. You still have a long way to go before you can face him."

"I think you just worry too much." Eric said as he left to join the others.

"In time you will see for yourself how dangerous my father can really be." Alucard said to himself as he watched Eric leave.

* * *

Alucard entered the main building and headed for his meditation room. As he walked down the hall he passed by Gregory. "Don't you think you're being too strict with them?"

Alucard turned to Gregory. "They must be ready. I can not go easy on them. They don't have the luxury of time that their ancestors did. My father wants to ensure that there will be no one to stop him."

"Their skills have improved considerably over the past few weeks that they have been here." Gregory said. "They may be ready to fight sooner than we expect. Maybe they have earned the right to have time to do what they want. They are after all still children to us. Even Reis and the others need personal time."

"I see what you are saying, but now is not the time to be lenient." Alucard replied. "My father won't."

Gregory signed. "I understand how you want so much to see your father defeated for good. I also notice how you distance yourself from the others. By this action you make these people believe that you only see them as students and not as friends. I know how you despise your vampire side and how you hate to establish bonds with others. Become their friend and stop being so demanding. In time they will be ready. Till then show them that you are more than just a teacher."

Alucard stood a moment and thought about what Gregory had said. "I'll think about it. But you are wrong in one respect. I do care for their safety. The Belmonts that I have fought beside were the only humans who saw me not as a mere Dhampir but a friend. I will help this generation of Belmonts just as I have the generations before them. And I will make sure that this cursed bloodline ends with my father and me."

Gregory watched Alucard leave. "I know you will." With that Gregory turned and walked away.

Alucard entered the mess hall and walked up to Eric and his party. The other vampires were sitting with them. "I've though about your request and I believe that you are right. You will have the rest of the day to yourselves. All I ask is that you stay on the property and do not travel outside the walls. We will continue your training tomorrow."

Alucard turned and left the room, leaving the others confused. "What just happened?" Paul asked. "Did he just say we don't have to do any more training today?"

"That's exactly what he said dumbass." Kristy said. "So what do you guys want to do?"

"How about we watch some movies." Cheryl offered. "This place is stocked."

"I'm going to sleep." Craig said.

Drew scoffed. "Don't tell me that's what you plan on doing. I say we paint the town red."

"Alucard doesn't want us leaving this place." Cheryl said. "If we do we'll get in trouble and then things will be worse."

"Dracula won't send his peons to attack us while we're in public." Paul said. "Besides, we'll just be extra careful."

Sophia nodded in agreement. "We'll come with you. With us around you should be safe. Just don't talk to strangers."

Eric didn't like the idea. "I don't think we should go out to the city. As much as I'd like to it sounds too risky."

Amanda slapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, we've been cooped up here forever. It'll do us some good to get out of here."

"Don't be a buzz kill." Kristy said. "We'll only be gone for a few hours. We'll be back before Alucard even knows we're gone."

"Fine, we'll go." Eric said. "What time are we going to leave?"

"As soon as it gets dark." Sophia replied.

Drew clapped his hands together. "Finally, some real fun. Hey Reis, you coming with us?"

Reis stood up. "Unlike you I don't need to go anywhere. Do what you want; I'll be in my room." Reis left as the others kept talking about their trip to the city. "I have a feeling that this is going to lead to some real trouble." He said to himself.

* * *

**Author's notes: Well, this chapter is done. Looks like our heroes are about to head out for a night on the town. You know that that can only lead to trouble. The enemies have also been revealed. Basically I took all the heavy hitters from the series and grouped them together, though I don't think the Bone Dragon is based off another boss character. In any case this story will continue. I hope you all enjoy it. See you later.**

"_Children of the night, what a mess they make."_

_Dracula, "Dracula, Dead and Loving It."_


	3. Stalked

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated to Castlevania. Konami has that honor. The original characters and story belong to me.

Castlevania

Millennium

By: Striker

Chapter Three: Stalked

Eric's group stopped outside the city limits of Tanner. It was a medium-sized city with decent population. The group had decided to split up into two groups. Eric had Amanda, Cheryl, and Paul with him. The others were with Craig. Eric got out of his car and walked over to Craig's car. Craig rolled down his window. "Hey Eric, where are you guys going?"

"We figured that we would go to the park." Eric replied.

"If you ask me that sounds a little dangerous." Kristy said.

Eric looked back at his car. "Amanda will be with us. If anything happens at least she can do some damage so we can escape. So are you still going to that club?"

Craig smirked. "That's the plan. We though we would check it out."

"It's nicely populated, so Dracula won't try to attack us there." Drew added.

"Just make sure to be back by eleven." Eric said. "And don't get arrested by the cops. We can't have Alucard finding out or Dracula will be the least of our worries."

Craig waved to Eric and then sped off. Eric walked back to his car and got in. "Let's go guys, we only have three hours."

"Is it me, or do we all think that they're going to get in trouble?" Cheryl asked.

Amanda chuckled. "Kristy's with them. She should keep them in line."

"I hope you're right." Eric said. He started the car and drove towards the park.

* * *

Eric and Amanda walked along a path that ringed a small lake in the center of the park. Eric stopped and looked out over the water. Amanda moved next to him. "What are you thinking about?"

Eric turned to Amanda. "I've just been thinking about what's happened to us." He turned back to the water and sighed. "I still can't believe that this has happened to us. I wonder if everyone in my family had to go through the same sort of things. I just wish my parents told me this sooner so I would have been ready in case this sort of thing did happen."

"They probably didn't tell you to protect you." Amanda said. "If you had known, you wouldn't have remained friends with us. You would have gone off somewhere and cut all ties. Maybe you weren't supposed to know until you did? And maybe we were destined to help you? Everything that has happened may have for a reason. At least that's what I think."

"So it was fate that my parents were supposed to die." Eric said. "You're saying that there was nothing anyone could have done to save them. That doesn't sound fair to me. Maybe Alucard was right, my family is cursed after all. Maybe you should just leave while you have the chance."

Amanda wrapped her arm around his. "I'm not going anywhere, and neither are the others. As far as I'm concerned we were destined to fight with you as well."

Cheryl and Paul stood a short distance away watching their friends. "Don't they look cute together?" Paul said. "I swear, they were made for each other."

"Too bad this shit had to happen." Cheryl said. She looked up at the stars and sighed. "You think that there is someone for every person in this world?"

Paul was caught off guard by this question. "What?"

Cheryl looked at Paul, a frown on her face. "Do you believe that everyone has a soul mate that one day he or she will meet and just know it?"

"Don't you get all mushy on me." Paul said. "Women see two people together and all the sudden they get all starry-eyed and start wishing for someone to sweep them off their feet."

Cheryl smacked Paul on the arm. "I'm serious. And for your information I think I may have found that certain someone."

Paul crossed his arms. "OK, who's the luck person you have your sights set on?"

"Alucard." Cheryl replied.

"Whoa, I think you better stop right there." Paul said, his eyes getting big. "I hate to ruin your hopes but I don't think Alucard is one for establishing romantic relationships."

Cheryl was now the one to cross her arms. "Well I think he's rather handsome and it wouldn't hurt to try."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm sure that you and every other woman on this planet would find him handsome but I doubt it would work out."

"You never know." Cheryl replied. "So, do you have someone you have a crush on?"

"Well, uh, I," Paul stuttered, scratching the back of his head, "I kind of think I like Kristy."

Cheryl's jaw dropped. "Kristy, the same Kristy whose throat you're always at and vice versa?"

"She can be nice when she's not being a stuck-up, annoying bitch." Paul said. "She's really cute too."

"Maybe you should ask her out?" Cheryl said.

"I would, but she may kill me." Paul said. He looked back over at Eric and Amanda. "Speaking of relationships our little lovebirds are getting cozy, we should leave them alone before they start yelling at us for spying."

Cheryl nodded. "Maybe we can find some swings." The pair left, leaving Eric and Amanda alone. Neither of them noticed the pair of red eyes peering from the shadows of the trees, nor the snort that came with them.

* * *

Craig's group entered the club. A sign next to the outside door stated that the club allowed people eighteen and older to enter, but they had to be twenty-one to drink. It was full of people dancing and drinking. The lights flashed in rhythm to the blaring music. Drew immediately made his way to the bar. "Time to get to some heavy drinking."

"Are you sure you're old enough?" Craig asked jokingly.

"Please, I'm two-hundred and five." Drew replied. "I'm way over the age limit." Sophia followed Drew while Craig and Kristy made their way over to a table.

"Man, this place is packed." Craig said. "I tell you, this is the best place to go after a hard day."

"I find it too noisy." Kristy said, finding herself trying to talk over the music. "Couldn't we go someplace else?"

Craig laughed. "You always were one of those straight arrows. I'm surprise that you didn't have a problem going against Alucard's orders."

"I never said I was a perfect angel." Kristy said. "It's just that I don't like places like this."

Craig stared off towards the bar. "Kristy, I think I'm in love."

Kristy looked at her watch. "Damn, we haven't been her for five minutes and already you've found a girl. You're fast."

"I was talking about Sophia." Craig said flatly. "I think she's the one for me."

Kristy stared blankly at Craig at a loss for words. She finally spoke. "What the hell are you talking about? You're a Belmont, she's a vampire."

"So what's wrong about that?" Craig asked.

"Everything." Kristy replied. "Your family hunts down vampires like her. Do you know how crazy you sound?"

Craig pointed towards Sophia. "She's not like the rest of them. You heard Gregory; vampires are different than what they used to be. Besides, I think Sophia has the hots for me. She keeps giving me looks and winks all the time."

"She could be setting you up for a little bit." Kristy said. "And even if she does like you Alucard and Gregory would flip if they heard you."

"You're just jealous because I'm not afraid to express my feelings for Sophia, unlike you are." Craig shot back.

Kristy gave Craig an accusing look. "What do you mean by that?"

Craig smirked. "Admit it, you like Paul. You've wanted to get together with him for a long time."

"If you continue this discussion you'll be walking in cast." Kristy threatened.

"Looks like someone's getting defensive." Craig said. "You must really like him."

Kristy hung her head. "I admit, he does have his good parts, but he's always acting like a jerk. Maybe if he would grow up I'd ask him out, but I don't think that would ever happen."

Drew knocked back another shot. "Damn, it's been a while since I've had good shit like this. Too bad the slave driver won't let me have any booze."

"All you think about is beer, sex, and fighting." Sophia said. "Some of us have more appropriate desires." Sophia stared up at Craig and Kristy.

"All I can say is that I enjoy the finer things in life, just like these kids." Drew motioned to the mass of people dancing. "All they care about is getting the most pleasure out of life that they can before they croak. It's what they've always done and always will do till the end of time."

"We were like that once, before we were turned." Sophia replied. "Some of us wish to hold on to that past life."

Drew chuckled. "Just like the old saying that people want the one thing they can never have."

"Yes, they do." Sophia said, her eyes not leaving Craig.

Drew turned to Sophia. "Is that all you're…" Drew followed her gaze. "Why the hell are you staring a hole through him?"

Sophia smiled. "Because I find myself attracted to him. I wonder if he feels the same way about me?"

"Are you listening to what you're saying?" Drew asked. "He's a Belmont. The idea of a Belmont and a vampire getting together is unheard of. Did you even think of what could happen? For all you know if you two hook up reality as we speak could be turned upside down. Not to mention Alucard and the others would be pissed as hell. Face it, it's not meant to happen."

"It's happened before." Sophia replied. "A vampire and a Belmont once fell in love a long time ago."

"You're not talking about Alucard and Sonia, are you?" Drew asked. "That's just a fairy tale told by some vampire who couldn't accept that the Belmonts got their power from some other source. And if the story is true, wouldn't all the Belmonts be Dhampirs?"

"Even so, that's not going to stop me." Sophia said. "No one can stop love. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll ask him to dance."

Drew watched Sophia make her way towards Craig. "Don't blame me when the world comes to a crashing halt." Drew said to himself, downing another drink. Another person watched Sophia as well, a blond haired woman with a wicked smile on her face.

* * *

Alucard entered the lounge of the rec. hall. He found Reis watching TV. "Where all the others?" Alucard asked. "Did they turn in for the night?"

"The last time I checked they went out to the city against your orders." Reis said, not looking away from the TV. "Sophia and Drew went with them."

"Why didn't you stop them?" Alucard asked harshly.

"It none of my concern what they do." Reis said calmly. "I only signed up for this because Gregory asked me to."

Alucard quickly walked around the couch Reis was seated in and glared at him. "Why didn't you at least tell me what they were planning to do?"

"Because I'm not their…" Reis stopped when he saw Alucard's face.

"You better change your attitude and start looking after them." Alucard said. "If the Belmonts die then everything is lost. Dracula will sweep over this world and kill everyone who stands against him, including you. Now get their weapons and meet me outside."

"What are we going to do?" Reis asked.

"Look for them." Alucard said. "I'm going to need your help. I can't search the city alone. There's no telling where they went or if they're together. My father's forces may already have begun to attack them."

Reis got up. "It may not be much, but I overheard where they were going before they left. Some of them were talking about a park and the others said something about some nightclub. They were looking up the address for it."

"Were you eavesdropping on them?" Alucard asked.

Reis shook his head. "It was kind of hard not to hear them. I was in here when they were making their plans. I'm surprised the whole place didn't hear them."

"That doesn't matter. Get the weapons and meet me outside." Alucard quickly left the building. A few minutes later Reis appeared with the gear. Alucard was waiting in the middle of the field. "Who went where?"

"Craig, Kristy, and my team went to the club." Reis replied. "The others must have gone to the park."

"Give me the equipment for Eric, his sister, and Paul." Alucard ordered. "You take the rest of the gear and go to the nightclub. I'll head to the park. I only hope we're not too late." Reis gave Alucard the gear. He then watched Alucard fly out of the compound.

Reis picked up the rest of the equipment and then became sprinting out of the compound. "I knew this was going to be a problem." He said to himself.

* * *

"I still think you're nuts getting involved with Sophia." Kristy said. "It will not work out between you two."

Craig waved her off. "We'll see what happens. Speaking of which, here she comes now." He said, spotting Sophia walking towards him.

"Would you care to dance with me?" Sophia asked seductively.

Craig stood up and took her hand. "I would love too."

Kristy rolled her eyes and headed for Drew. Craig and Sophia began to dance close to each other as Kristy got to the bar. She walked up to Drew and leaned against the bar. She showed the bartender her ID and ordered a beer. "Can you believe this?" She asked Drew, taking a sip.

"I can't imagine what the children will look like." Drew said. "I think you may have a Dhampir for a niece, or a nephew. Either way you're family tree is going to be very weird."

"I don't even what to think about it." Kristy said, taking another drink.

Sophia slipped her arms around Craig's neck. "So are you having fun?"

"Yeah, this sure beats anything we would be doing at our home." Craig replied, placing his hands on her waist. "I've been thinking, have you been seeing anyone in the last hundred years?"

"I had a fling with some guy back in '57, but it didn't work out." Sophia replied. "What makes you ask that question?"

Craig smiled and looked away from Sophia. "I was just wondering. You don't strike me as the type who would have a hard time getting a date."

"Do you have anyone special?" Sophia asked. "Any girl you have your eye on."

"As a matter of fact I do." Craig said. "As it seems, I also live with her too. She's funny, smart, cute, the kind of girl I'm looking for."

A sly smile spread across Sophia's face. "Would I happen to know this girl?"

"If you look in the mirror." Craig replied.

Sophia giggled. "You're so sweet Craig, that's what I find so irresistible about you. You always know how to make me laugh. So what do you say we find someplace a little more private?"

Craig gave her a sly look. "Where do you propose we go, and how do we get rid of those two?"

"We'll figure that out." Sophia leaned in to kiss Craig, only to be pushed away by the blond haired woman.

"Mind if I cut in?" The woman asked.

"Who the hell are you?" Sophia asked, glaring at the woman.

The woman grinned. "Competition. Want to dance?" The woman asked Craig, staring at his eyes.

Craig seemed to go into a trance. "Sure, I would love that." He said, in a drugged tone of voice.

Sophia stormed back to the bar while the woman danced with Craig, who looked bewitched. "Can you believe that woman? Who does she think she is interrupting us like that?"

"Maybe you should calm down?" Kristy said. "It's just a dance, right Drew?"

Drew didn't respond. Instead he stared at Craig and the woman. "Oh hell, this is bad. I recognize the look Craig has. We have to get the kid and get out of here now."

* * *

"Maybe you shouldn't be involved with this war." Eric said. "From what Alucard told us Dracula won't stop till my family is dead."

Amanda looked at Eric with surprise. "What do you mean I should leave? I told you that I'm staying with you no matter what. You know Dracula will come after anyone close to you, so I'm safer being by your side."

Eric stared out over the water. "I just don't want you to get hurt. I don't want any of my friends to get hurt. If anything were to happen to any of you I don't think I could forgive myself for getting any of you involved."

"The way I see it I have these powers of mine to help you fight." Amanda said. "Alucard and Gregory both believe that you need all the help you can get, so I won't leave you."

Eric turned to Amanda and looked straight into her eyes. "I'm afraid that you will get hurt or killed. I care too much about you to risk that."

"I care about you too." Amanda replied. "That's why I don't want you facing this alone. I love you Eric. I've been in love with you ever since the day we met."

Eric stared at Amanda for a few minutes, letting what she said sink in. A smile then crept over his face. "I love you too, Amanda." Eric said. "I wanted to say that for a long time, but I never knew if you felt the same way."

Amanda smiled as well. "Then show me you mean it." Eric leaned in and gently kissed her. Amanda felt as if she was going to faint.

Without warning the trees behind them erupted as the Minotaur stormed out, followed by the Death Knight. "Are we interrupting a special moment?" the Minotaur asked the frightened couple.

"Amanda, get out of here." Eric said. "They want me."

"We want both of you." The Death Knight said. "The girl's magic poses as much a threat to our master as your blood. Both of you must die so our lord's wishes may be fulfilled."

Amanda and Eric found themselves backed against the railing of the pond. Finding no way to escape Amanda began to scream for help.

"What the hell?" Paul asked. "That sounds like Amanda."

Cheryl looked back at the direction of where Eric and Amanda were. "Shit, we better go help them. I hope it isn't too serious." Both she and Paul ran towards their friends. She stopped as soon as she saw their enemies. "Oh my God."

"I think this is very serious." Paul said.

* * *

Kristy walked up to Craig and the woman and grabbed Craig's arm. "Come on Craig, we have to go."

"But he doesn't want to go." The woman said. "You don't want to go, do you Craig?"

"I don't want to go." Craig replied, half in a daze.

"Yes he does." Sophia said, bumping the woman away and leading Craig to the door.

As Craig was led away he shook his head as if he was coming out of a dream. "What the hell happened? I was dancing with you and then that woman…"

"We'll talk later." Sophia said. "Drew suggested that we get out of here. He didn't tell us why, but I think it has something to do with that woman."

Drew was waiting by the entrance. "Move it people, we can't stay here much longer."

The group was just about to leave when the woman yelled at them. "The Belmont boy comes with me!" She then revealed her true form, turning into the Harpy. "And as for you bitch, die!" The Harpy dove at Sophia as the club patrons ran screaming from the building. The Harpy grabbed Sophia and lifted her into the air.

"We defiantly have to leave." Drew said.

"What about Sophia?" Kristy asked.

"She'll take care of herself." Drew said. "She'll do better than you will."

* * *

"All our prey, in one place none the less." The Minotaur said gleefully. "Helps not having to hunt you all down."

The Death Knight pointed at Cheryl and Paul. "Those two are yours. I will kill the male Belmont and the witch."

"What do we do?" Amanda asked as the Death Knight closed in on them.

Eric placed Amanda behind him. "As soon as you get a chance, run like hell. I'll draw this guy away from you."

Paul began to slowly back up. "We can't fight these guys, not without our weapons."

"We should have listened to Alucard." Cheryl said.

"Alucard may have warned you but he can't help you now." The Minotaur gloated. "Our master will be pleased when we remove you from this world." He began to tap his giant hammer as he approached. "I'm going to enjoy this."

Meanwhile the Death Knight raised his sword to strike Eric. "Prepare to die." The young Belmont closed his eyes and prepared to get hit, only to hear the sound of metal hitting metal. He opened his eyes to find Alucard standing in front of him blocking the Death Knight's sword with his.

"Alucard, where did you come…?" Eric started to ask.

Alucard shoved the Death Knight away and pointed at the equipment lying next to Paul and Cheryl. "Get your weapons and defend yourselves."

"Alucard," The Death Knight growled, "Why do you interfere with your father's plans? You should help him instead of fight against him."

"I will never serve my father." Alucard said. "And I will destroy you." Alucard attacked the Death Knight and the two began to spar.

The Minotaur watched the scene and turned back to his enemies. "Even with Alucard you will still die. While my partner keeps him busy, I'll take care of you."

Paul picked up his ax. "Then let's dance." Paul swung at the Minotaur. The monster easily blocked the strike and returned one of his own. The force of the impact sent Paul sprawling backwards. Cheryl struck the Minotaur in the back with one of her swords. The monster roared and swung at her. She ducked and dodged a downward blow that missed her and cracked the sidewalk. Amanda fired two bolts at the Minotaur, staggering him. Eric picked up his whip and ran over to Paul. Paul lifted himself up with his ax. "Damn Eric, that guy hits hard."

"We have to remember our training." Eric said. "We can beat him; we just have to work together and use what we learned."

Alucard and the Death Knight continued to fight. "Your students are no match for us." The Death Knight said. "They will soon fall and the others will quickly be killed as well. After all you did you will fail in protecting them."

Alucard parried a blow and struck with one of his own. "Do not take them so lightly, you may lose."

"When this is over, we'll see how differently you will feel." The Death Knight replied.

Eric hit the Minotaur with his whip, causing the brute to roar in pain. "Push him towards the railing." He ordered. "We may be able to knock him into the water."

Cheryl nodded and attacked the Minotaur. The beast blocked the attacks, but found himself retreating. Paul joined in and started to force the Minotaur back. The Minotaur took a giant horizontal swing. Both Cheryl and Paul ducked, the hammer missing them. Amanda threw a large bolt, hitting the Minotaur in the chest.

"Is that supposed to hurt me?" The Minotaur taunted.

"No, this is." Eric said, unleashing a flurry of whip cracks. The whip found its mark, leaving cuts all over the monster's body. The beast swung his hammer downward at Eric. Eric rolled out of the way and turned to Amanda. "Now, hit him in the face." Amanda fired a bolt, hitting the Minotaur in the eyes. The monster dropped his hammer and clutched his face. "Cheryl, Paul, let's go." Eric, Paul, and Cheryl rushed the Minotaur and pushed him over the railing. He landed in the water making a large splash.

The Death Knight heard the splash and turned towards the Minotaur. "That imbecile, can't he do anything right?"

"You should worry about yourself." Alucard said. The Death Knight yelled and charged Alucard. The Dhampir turned to mist, allowing the Knight to pass through him. He quickly turned solid and slashed the stunned Knight across the back. The Death Knight dropped his sword and reared back. Alucard kicked him in the back, sending his enemy face first to the ground. Alucard ran over to Eric and his group. "We'll talk about this later. For now get back to the compound." The young adults nodded and ran for the car.

The Death Knight got up and walked over to the water. The Minotaur was still splashing around. "Quit fooling around and get out of there. Our lord will not be pleased with this."

* * *

Craig, Kristy, and Drew ran out of the nightclub along with several dozen screaming people. As the people ran for a place to hide Craig stopped. "We have to go back in there and help Sophia. We can't leave her behind."

Just then the Harpy flew out the door with Sophia still in tow and threw her to the ground. "You don't have to do that." Drew said. "Hey Sophia, you OK?"

"I've been better." Sophia groaned. She had bleeding wounds where the Harpy's claws had grabbed her. "I'm going to pluck that bitch if it's the last thing I do."

"I seriously doubt that you can fight me unarmed." The Harpy mocked as she circled her prey. "I'll tear you all apart and save the human boy for last. I may make him my slave."

Sophia glared at the monster. "Don't you even think about it."

"Oh, do I make you jealous?" The Harpy asked. "I didn't know you cared about him. The world really has become a different place when a Belmont and a vampire fall in love. How repulsive."

"Man, this can't get any worse." Craig said.

Several screams from people who had stopped to watch got the group's attention. "One, I think it just did, and two, never say anything like that again." Kristy said. The Medusa slithered from an alley and turned to the Harpy.

"I told you not to fool around." Medusa scolded. "Kill them and get it over with. We can't run the risk of their other friends arriving."

"The other fools are dead by now." The Harpy said. "Minotaur and Death Knight are taking care of them."

Drew took a fighting pose. "Don't count them out just yet. They won't be pushovers, and neither will we. Guys, whatever happens don't let those blasts that snake bitch fires from her eyes hit you. You'll get turned into a rock."

"You mean like this?" Medusa asked. She fired a blast that Drew dodged. It hit a car, turning it to stone.

"You have to be kidding me." Craig said. "We're toast."

"No you're not!" Reis yelled, coming out of nowhere and striking Medusa with his mace, sending her flying into the stone car. He then swung at her again, missing his target and shattering the car. "I brought your shit. Drew, we'll take care of the snake. The rest of you have the bird."

Drew got his claws and joined Reis. "Time to do some damage."

Sophia grabbed her blade and tossed Craig and Kristy their weapons. "I'm going to cut your wings off." Sophia threw her blade at the Harpy. The monster dodged the blade with ease. Sophia caught the blade and threw it again. The Harpy dodged and flew straight at her. Sophia got out of the way and caught her blade.

"Are you even trying to hit me?" The Harpy asked mockingly, hovering close to the ground.

"Shut it bitch." Craig said. He swung is sword at the monster. She flew up, over, and behind him.

"Don't be such a mean boy." The Harpy said. "I'll deal with you soon enough."

Suddenly Kristy slammed the Harpy with her lance, sending the monster crashing into the side of the nightclub. "Why don't you pay more attention to what's going on. Maybe if you didn't talk so much you wouldn't leave yourself open."

Craig rushed the Harpy and sliced her wing. "That's for interrupting my dance."

The Harpy growled and smacked Craig away. Sophia caught him and both crashed to the ground. "I changed my mind." The Harpy sneered. "I'll kill you too."

Meanwhile Drew and Reis battled Medusa. The monster kept avoiding their blows with her surprising speed. "How pathetic," Medusa said as she dodged another of Reis's blows, "Didn't you get trained better?"

"Shut up." Reis said coolly.

Drew snuck up behind her and slashed her hair, cutting off a few snakes. "Gotcha!" Drew exclaimed. Medusa responded by smacking Drew with her tail and sending him into a car. "I'm going to feel this in the morning." He groaned.

Reis used the distraction to hit Medusa into the air. He then batted her into a store window. "One down, one to go." Reis ran over to Drew. "Are you OK?"

"Yeah, I didn't know you cared?" Drew replied.

"I don't." Reis said. "We just need you to fight." He then turned to Sophia and the others. "Take care of your opponent so we can leave."

"What do you think we're trying to do?" Kristy yelled back.

Sophia helped Craig up. "Are you hurt?"

"A little." Craig replied.

"Take him." Sophia ordered to Kristy. She got up and glared at the Harpy. Just then she noticed that the Harpy was underneath the sign for the nightclub. It was connected to the building by a bar on the bottom and two wires on the top. Sophia threw her blade at the Harpy.

The Harpy dodged and grinned at her enemy. "You missed again. You need to work on your aim."

"Who said I was aiming for you?" Sophia asked, grinning slyly. The blade cut through both wires. Without the wires to hold it up the sign buckled on the bar and dropped straight down, crashing onto the stunned Harpy. Sophia caught her blade and turned to Reis. "This bird's been grounded."

"Good, then let's go." Reis said. His group left the scene, leaving the defeated monsters and a few spectators behind.

The Harpy burst from the wreckage of the sign and screamed. "I'm going to rip out that bitch's intestines and strangle her with them!"

Medusa emerged from the shop. "Forget that for now. We have to leave." The Harpy grabbed Medusa and lifted her out of the street.

* * *

Back at the training ground Alucard was busy reprimanding his students. "What the hell were you thinking? You all could have been killed. If it wasn't for Reis you would all be dead."

"We beat those monsters, didn't we?" Paul asked.

"You barely managed to." Alucard replied. "It took four of you just to fight the Minotaur, and even then you just pushed him into the water. In addition Sophia, Drew, and Craig got injured. You even got hurt too Paul. And if we hadn't have come to save you, you would have had to fight unarmed. Consider yourselves lucky. You have to be more careful. If anything this encounter tonight proves that they know where we are. From now on none of you will leave this compound unless you are told too or I am with you. Now go to your rooms. I don't want anything like this to happen again."

"It won't Alucard." Eric said. "We won't disobey you."

Alucard watched his student's leave for their dorms. Gregory walked up behind him. "What is it old man?"

"You should talk." Gregory said. "You were a little too harsh with them, don't you think? You should try to not be as strict. This night, if anything, taught them a lesson they needed to learn."

"I need to be strict." Alucard said. "It's the only way that they will survive. Hopefully tonight's events will keep them in line. The sad part is that it almost cost them their lives."

"How bad were the injures?" Gregory asked.

"Mostly bruises." Alucard replied. "The most serious were Sophia's, but she'll heal quickly. My father knows that we are near the city. It's only a matter of time before his forces attack us."

Gregory nodded and brought his fist to his chin. "Through all the bad things I do see something positive. They have improved in their skills. They were able to defeat their adversaries. We may have to take them to the next step in their training."

"I must admit that much, but I still want to train them for a bit longer before we do that." Alucard said.

"As you wish, but you can't keep them here forever." Gregory said. "Sooner or later they will face Dracula."

* * *

"I am sorry my lord." The Death Knight said. "We found our enemies, but were unable to kill them. Alucard intervened."

"They were trained better than we thought." Medusa added. "They have grown stronger than anticipated."

Dracula sat at his thrown, brooding over the turn of events. "Our one chance to kill them has failed. They won't dare leave their hiding place again. We'll have to directly assault their lair and fight them there. Do you know where they are?"

"Yes, we do." The Death Knight replied. "We are ready to attack at any time."

"We will have to be patient." Dracula said. "They will be on guard. We must wait for them to lower their defenses before we are to strike. No matter how long it takes, I will see the Belmont bloodline ended."

* * *

**Author's Notes: The first major battle scenes have come. Dracula will now put on the pressure to kill the Belmonts and Eric's team must step up if they're going to survive. This story is half-way there and it gets better from here on out. By the way, Medusa's attack I based ff her attack in Super Castlevania IV. Also, I got Alucard's powers from Symphony of the Night. Until next time LOOK OUT BEHIND YOU!**

"_Sleep tight, don't let the vampires bite"_

_Original_


	4. Hunt

Disclaimer: I don't own anything associated to Castlevania. Konami has that honor. The original characters and story belong to me.

Castlevania

Millennium

By: Striker

Chapter Four: Hunt

A month had passed since Eric's group had fought Dracula's minions in the city of Tanner. Alucard had increased their training and had begun team exercises. During that time each person had gotten better. They had also grown mentally and emotionally during that time as well. Alucard had become pleased at how well they had improved and how they had begun to function as a unit. Gregory had watched as well and felt that it was time for the Belmont team to prove themselves.

The team had just finished running their night-time laps when Alucard called them to attention. "I have something important to say. It seems that your last battle with my father's forces has motivated you to become better. Your skills have advanced faster than I could have anticipated. You have also matured and have become adults. Because of this Gregory and I believe that the time has come to test your skills. Meet me in the meeting hall in ten minutes." Alucard left for the main building, leaving the team to wonder what the meeting was going to be about.

"What do you think is going on?" Kristy asked.

"I don't know." Eric replied. "Whatever it is, we should be ready for it."

"It could have something to do with Dracula." Cheryl said. "Alucard may want us to face some of his lackeys."

"It doesn't matter." Eric said. "We'll be able to deal with anything Alucard and Gregory throw at us."

Meanwhile Craig and Sophia were together as they usually were. Craig put down his sword and rubbed his shoulder. "Man, all this training really can wear you out."

"Want me to make you feel better?" Sophia asked, beginning to massage his shoulders."

"You know you always do." Craig said. They both began to giggle.

Amanda, Paul, Reis, and Drew were watching the scene go on. "There's something about this that doesn't seem right." Paul said.

"If you ask me it's kind of disturbing." Drew said. "I would understand if it was a human and a vampire getting cozy, but a Belmont and a vampire just seems wrong."

Reis slowly shook his head. "Alucard must be blind if he hasn't seen them."

"I know what you mean." Paul said. "They're hanging on each other every chance they get."

"I think the only reason this is being allowed is because Gregory is letting it." Reis said.

Amanda sighed. "Can't you guys just leave them alone? They're two people in love and nothing you guys say or do will change that."

"Like you and Eric." Paul said, winking.

"Yes, like Eric and me." Amanda replied flatly.

Kristy, Eric, and Cheryl walked over to the group. "God, are they at it again?" Kristy asked, seeing Craig and Sophia.

Drew nodded. "Someone should get a hose before they really get into it. Since when did this camp become a dating service? I can't wait to see who hooks up next."

"It could be Paul and Kristy." Amanda remarked.

Paul looked at Kristy and started to head for the main building. "I'm getting something to drink before the meeting." He said, sounding uncomfortable. "See you inside."

Kristy looked down at the ground. "Whatever. Just don't keep us waiting."

Cheryl watched the scene and turned to Kristy. "Is it me or don't you two barely talk to each other? For the last two weeks you two have been avoiding each other whenever you can."

"Back off Cheryl." Kristy snapped. "You should worry about your own personal life." Kristy stormed off leaving her friends confused.

"What the hell is her problem?" Reis said. "I'll never understand how any of you think." Reis left as well and headed for the main building. The others soon followed.

Cheryl stayed where she was with her eyes closed thinking about what Kristy had said. Eric walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Cheryl replied, looking at her brother. "I'm fine."

"Is it about Alucard?" Eric asked.

"It's just that everyone keeps telling me that I'm wasting my time and that it's wrong." Cheryl replied. "Don't tell me that you're going to tell me the same thing."

Eric shook his head. "It's none of my business to try and interfere with your life. Whatever happens I'll be behind you. Honestly though, I don't know how Alucard will take this. Try to understand that this might not work. We better hurry; we don't want to keep the other waiting."

Cheryl nodded and she and her brother left for the meeting.

Gregory cleared his throat before speaking. "Alucard and I have been watching your progress and we have come to the conclusion that you need actual experience in battle. So far you have spared with opponents in this training facility. Your first real combat was in the city and in that you did well. Now it is time to see if you have what it takes to hunt down and destroy your enemies. There is a small town in Montana called Potsdale. People there have been attacked by strange creatures. You will go there and eliminate these creatures, if there are any. You leave immediately."

"There is a helicopter waiting out back." Alucard added. "Get your equipment and be on board in fifteen minutes. I will come with you."

The group got their things and arrived at the helipad behind the main building. A large Chinook helicopter was ready to go. Eric walked over to Alucard. "How did Gregory get this?"

"He owns several companies in the U.S." Alucard replied. "It is through his wealth and resources that we are able to train at this compound. To win this war we will need more than just your skill and strength. Now get on board, we leave soon." The team got on board the Chinook and soon they were on their way to Potsdale.

* * *

The helicopter landed in a clearing a few miles outside of Potsdale. Alucard exited the aircraft followed by the rest of the party. He waited until everyone was outside before he gave his instructions. "Most of the attacks have taken place north of the town. We'll start there and see if we can find where the attackers are hiding. This region is full of hills, so we may have to search caves."

"What if these monsters work for Dracula and this is all a trap?" Craig asked.

"This may all be a set-up to lure us out in the open." Kristy added.

"I doubt that very much." Alucard replied. "But that possibility cannot be ruled out. We'll start immediately. Keep up your guard and be ready to fight at any moment." Alucard led the group into the forest surrounding the clearing.

"What do you think could be running around here?" Paul asked, searching the trees.

"We could find vampires, werewolves, or worse." Drew answered. "My bet is that we find something worse."

Sophia grimaced as she looked at the trees. "This is going to be a problem. With all these obstacles I won't be able to use my blade at a distance. Amanda is going to have trouble with her bolts, not to mention Eric getting his whip tangled in the branches."

"Good thing we have close range weapons." Craig said, taking her hand and squeezing it.

"That's if you can hit the target." Paul joked.

"Stay alert two guys." Cheryl scolded. "We can't get caught with our pants down."

Reis was at the head of the group with Alucard. He saw tracks on the ground and held his hand up. "I see something, could belong to out targets." Reis walked over to the tracks and stooped down. The tracks looked like they were made by a large animal. "Looks like we're hunting werewolves."

Alucard joined Reis and studied the tracks. "There appears to be three sets. One of them must be the alpha. One set of these prints are bigger than the others. We may be dealing with a good-sized pack of between five to ten."

"All the victims were torn up pretty good." Reis said. "This pack must not be recruiting."

Eric walked over to the two men. "Where do you think they are?"

Alucard stood up and looked into the dark woods. "My guess would be a cave in the hills." Alucard turned to the rest of the team. "Be careful. Our opponents are werewolves and that makes this mission dangerous. For all we know they may be hunting us right now."

"Good thing most of us have silver weapons." Drew said.

Amanda made her way over to Eric's side. "This doesn't sound good. Maybe we shouldn't have come here."

"I'm sure we'll be fine." Eric said, trying to reassure his girlfriend. "If any of those werewolves are around Alucard and the others will know."

"We have company." Reis said. "I don't know where, but we have someone watching us."

"Great, where are they?" Paul asked.

Kristy readied her lance. "How many do you sense?"

"One person hiding in the brush." Reis replied. "I don't know exactly where…"

Before Reis could finish a man with black hair burst out from the wood and aimed a rifle at the stunned group. "You're not the one I'm after." The man said with a heavy southern accent. "Who the hell are you and what are you doing in these woods?"

"I could ask the same of you." Alucard countered. "We're here on business that doesn't concern you."

The man looked at each team member and their weapons. "Judging from the toys you have and the fact that four of you smell like vampires I'd say you are here for the same reason I am." The man lowered his rifle. "Name's Gene Baxtor. You could say that I'm a freelance hunter. I take it you folks are in the same business. Do yourselves a favor and back off. These bastards are mine. A friend of mine got killed by one of those pricks. I'm here to settle the score."

"One person against a whole pack?" Craig asked. "How the hell do you think you'll survive?"

"He's a werewolf." Alucard said. "That's the only way he could have told that some of us are vampires."

"It's kind of hard not to pick you out." Gene said to Alucard. "That all black ensemble makes you stand right out. Now, just to satisfy my curiosity, who are you people?"

"My name is Eric Belmont." Eric said. He began to gesture to each person. "This is my sister Cheryl, my brother Craig, and my friends Amanda, Paul, Kristy, Alucard, Sophia, Drew, and Reis."

Gene's jaw almost dropped. "You don't mean Belmont as in the Belmont clan of vampire hunters? And you don't mean Alucard as in Dracula's son?"

"That's us." Craig said. "We must be more famous that we thought."

"That's the biggest understatement of, well, forever." Gene said. "All my kind has heard of the Belmonts. The single best family of vampire hunters in history. Everyone knows about your brawls with Dracula. Alucard's pretty famous as well. Didn't expect to find any of you out in the middle of nowhere. Those pricks must have pissed off the wrong people."

"This is a training mission." Alucard said. "We're here to stop the werewolves and allow these people to gain experience in battle. We don't care why you're here or your motivations." He turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go, we don't have time to waste."

Gene snapped his fingers. "I know, I can show you where the pack is. I've been sniffing them out, so to speak, and I think I know what rock they're hiding under. You guys can do what you want and I can get some payback. What do you say?"

"It would make things a lot easier for us." Eric said to Alucard.

"It would be better than stumbling around these woods and walking into a trap." Cheryl added.

Alucard thought for a moment. "He could be lying."

"Alucard's right, this could be a trap." Reis said.

"If this is a set up, at least we can be ready for it." Amanda said. "Besides, he seems like someone we can trust."

Alucard nodded. "You have a point." He then turned to Gene. "Lead the way, but for your sake you better be telling the truth. If you are leading us into a trap you will regret it."

Gene put his hands up in defense. "Hey, I wouldn't even think about doing something that stupid. Follow me guys, our targets are this way." Gene headed off into the forest followed by Eric's group.

"I hope we don't regret this." Reis said.

"So do I." Alucard replied.

The group hid in the bushes outside a cave set into a cliff wall. Human bones were strewn around the cave entrance. Paw tracks led to and from the opening.

"This has to be the place." Kristy said.

"If this doesn't scream "werewolf den" then I don't know what does." Drew quipped.

Paul snickered. "Why don't they just hang a sign over it?"

Sophia turned to Alucard. "What's the plan? Do we charge in or wait for them to come out?"

Gene's ears perked. "I don't think we have to wait too long for the second option."

Just then a werewolf wandered out of the cave holding a thigh bone. It bit into it and snapped it in half before crewing on the part in its mouth. It looked around and stopped, sniffing the air. It smirked before letting out a howl. "Whoever is out there come on out. You can't hide from me." Soon six other werewolves joined him.

The largest of the wolves walked over to the sentry. "What is it?"

"We have a visitor." The wolf replied to the pack leader as it pointed towards the bushes.

"Great, we've been spotted. What now?" Craig asked.

Before anyone could say anything Gene walked out of the bushes and towards the wolves. "Howdy, nice night isn't it?"

"What the hell is he doing?" Cheryl asked.

"He may have given us the perfect chance to strike." Alucard said. "Amanda, ready a barrage. On my signal fire. The rest of us will attack then."

Meanwhile Gene was busy distracting the werewolves. "I see you've been pretty busy. If I were you though, I might want to hire a maid. You don't want any animals getting drawn to this place."

"You're the one trying to hunt us down." The pack leader growled. "It appears that you are outnumbered. Maybe you should run home before you end up like your friend."

"What make's you think I came alone?" Gene asked. As soon as he finished Amanda fired several bolts at the wolves. At the same time Gene transformed into his werewolf form. Eric's team charged from the bushes and attacked the stunned wolves.

Craig struck the first blow, cutting one of the werewolves on the arm. The beast howled as the cut burned. Craig looked at his sword and back at the wolf. "I love this sword." The wolf growled and swiped at Craig, forcing him to dodge.

Sophia and Drew rushed one of the werewolves. Drew ducked a swipe and rolled behind the beast, slashing it in the side as he did. Sophia threw her blade, cutting the werewolf's leg and forcing the monster to its knees. Drew then stabbed the wolf in the back of head killing it. Reis faced off with another werewolf. The beast slashed him across the face. Reis responded by smashing the wolf in its face with his mace. It fell to the ground and Reis finished the job by crushing its skull with his mace. Alucard was busy dodging the swipes from the werewolf he was facing. After dodging a swipe to the head Alucard stuck with a series of slashes, slicing the wolf up before chopping off its head.

The humans in Eric's team were holding up just as well. Eric lashed one of the werewolves several times. The wolf lunged at him and missed its target. Cheryl slashed the wolf twice and avoided a swipe. Eric took advantage of the wolf being distracted and wrapped his whip around its leg. He pulled, yanking the wolf's feet from under it. The wolf landed on its back and Cheryl sank her one sword through its heart. Paul and Kristy were taking turns swinging at another werewolf. The beast kept dodging each blow and swiped at both of its attackers. Kristy smacked the wolf in the side of its head with her lance. The wolf growled and reared back to hit her. Paul slammed his ax into the wolf's stomach, causing it to howl in pain. Kristy then stabbed it through the heart with her lance. Craig continued to fight with his enemy. He cut the wolf across the chest and rolled out of the way as the wolf brought its claw down. Amanda hit the wolf in the face with a bolt, which allowed Craig to kick the stunned monster in the back and knocking it face first to the ground. He then stabbed the wolf through the back, killing it.

While this was going on Gene fought with the pack leader. Both wolves rolled around, biting and tearing at each other. Gene managed to get on top of the leader and went to swipe at its face. The leader shoved Gene off of him and got up. He then knocked Gene to the ground with a backhand and pounced on him. Gene brought up his feet and caught the leader in mid-air. He then catapulted the leader into the rock wall of the cliff. The leader hit hard and fell to the ground. Before the leader could recover Gene pounced on him and tore out his throat. Gene spit out the meat and howled.

"Gross, but quite effective." Paul said.

Gene wiped his mouth. "Damn, looks like you guys wiped them all out. You defiantly live up to your reputation."

Drew saw the scratches on Reis's face. "Nice wound Reis. If you ask me it gives you character." Reis just groaned and pulled his mace from the dead wolf.

"This was easy." Craig said. "I thought this was supposed to be a challenge."

"These were only common werewolves." Alucard said. "These are nothing compared to my father's generals. Just because your skills have improved enough to handle lesser creatures don't think that you'll have an easy time with the enemies you faced in the city. Minotaur, Medusa, and the others are still more powerful than you. You did well, so let's go home."

"Do you mind if I come along with you?" Gene asked. "I could be of some help and I have no place else to go."

"We could use him." Eric said. "He appears to be a good fighter. It wouldn't hurt."

"Fine, you may come with us Gene." Alucard said. "Welcome to the team."

* * *

A crow flew in through the window of Dracula's cold lair and landed on the Death Knight's shoulder. "My lord, our enemies have returned to their hideout. They were in some battle. They may be exhausted."

Dracula, who was seated at his throne, stood up. "Now is the time for us to attack. The Belmonts' guard will be lowered and they will be too weak to fight. Prepare a unit to attack their base. This will all end tonight." Dracula's followers quickly began to mobilize for the attack while Dracula laughed evilly to himself.

* * *

Eric's group made their way to the dorms. Before they entered Alucard spoke to them. "You all did well tonight. However, do not get overconfident. The following battles will not be as easy. Tomorrow we continue our training. Goodnight."

Everyone entered the dorms as Alucard walked away. Eric turned and saw Gene looking around the compound. "This is some place you have." Gene said.

"It's not much, but we call it home." Eric said. "I'll show you to a spare room we have."

"Hey, you were serious when you said I could join you guys?" Gene asked, hoping Eric would say yes.

Eric nodded. "You were a great help to us earlier and we need all the help we can get. Alucard said it was alright, so let me formally welcome you aboard." Eric held out his hand.

Gene shook it excitedly. "You won't regret this at all." Gene said.

Later that night after everyone had gone to bed Cheryl made her way outside. She saw Alucard in the middle of the field practicing. "What are you doing out here at this time of night?" Cheryl asked playfully.

"I don't need sleep that you require." Alucard replied flatly. "You should be asleep now. Go back to your room."

"I just wanted to talk to you about something." Cheryl said, looking at the ground. "I was wondering if you have someone special in your life right now, or if you would want someone like that?"

Alucard sighed. "I can tell where you are going with this. I've dealt with this issue many times before. What you wish for can never happen. What you think you feel for me is nothing but a simple crush. Sadly it must stay that."

"How can you say that?" Cheryl said, caught off guard by Alucard's response. "This is more than a crush, I love you. And maybe this can work out. All we have to do is try."

"There have been many women who have felt the same way about me that you do." Alucard said sorrowfully. "Every time I had to turn them away. Some of them I did develop feelings for, but for someone like me love is a luxury I can never have. I swore to myself that I would end my bloodline with me. For that reason for most of this century I have been in hibernation. We could become lovers, but in the end both of us would suffer. I would have to watch you grow old and die and you would have to watch me never age. For those reasons this can not be."

Cheryl hung her head. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"When this is over and my father is sealed away for another hundred years I shall leave." Alucard replied. "In time you will find someone else whom you shall grow to love." A cold feeling suddenly ran over Alucard's body. "Cheryl, get the others and arm yourselves, quickly."

"Why?" Cheryl asked.

"Just do it." Alucard snapped. Cheryl ran towards the dorms confused and frightened. Alucard raised his sword and looked around. "I knew it would be a matter of time before you appeared." Alucard spun around and found his father standing in the middle of the field. "Father."

"You disappoint me son." Dracula said. "We could have ruled this world together but you sided with my enemy. You bring shame to this family."

"Mother would never have wanted you to do this." Alucard spat. "She wanted you to forgive the humans. Not destroy them."

"They killed her, and for what, a god that doesn't even care about them." Dracula sneered. "I sworn that I would oppose God for all he has done to me. And if that means crushing his children then so be it."

Just then Eric's group rushed out of the dorm and gathered around Alucard. "Is that him?" Eric asked.

Alucard nodded. "That is my father, Dracula."

"So you are the Belmont children." Dracula said. "After looking at you I find it hard to believe my followers were not able to finish you off. And I see they have friends, both human and some traitorous vampires. It doesn't matter how many people you throw at me for you shall all die." The front gate burst open as the Bone Dragon pushed its way through. It was followed by Medusa, Death Knight, Minotaur, and a small army of skeleton warriors and lizard men. Death and the Harpy swooped down from the sky. Dracula pointed at his enemies. "Kill them all."

Gene transformed into his werewolf form. "I'll take big, tall, and hairy." He said, charging the Minotaur.

"Come on Fido." Minotaur growled. The two monsters collided and began to pound on each other.

"The flying bitch is mine." Sophia said, locking eyes with the Harpy.

"Reis, deal with the Death Knight. Drew, take Medusa." Alucard said. "I'll fight my father."

"Your opponent will be me." Death hoarsely said. He swooped at Alucard and swung his scythe. Alucard blocked just in time.

Paul raised his ax. "I'll take the walking boneyard." He ran up to the Bone Dragon. "I hope I know what I'm doing." He swung his ax at the Dragon's head. The creature reared back and breathed a stream of fire. Paul rolled out of the way. "Great, I had to pick the walking flamethrower."

"I'll take on Dracula." Eric said. "The rest of you take out the grunts."

"We'll help you after we take out these leftovers." Craig said. He ran up and smashed several skeletons. Cheryl and Kristy followed suit while Amanda began to fire bolts.

"Be careful Eric." Alucard said. "He's not like any other enemy you have faced."

"You should worry about yourself." Death exclaimed. He swung several times at Alucard, all of which the Dhampir blocked or dodged. He then threw a sickle which Alucard knocked away.

"You've gotten slow." Alucard sneered. "I was expecting more of a challenge."

Death chuckled. "Ask and you shall receive." The monster moved with blinding speed. Alucard saw Death disappear and look around for him. He felt a presence behind him and turned just in time to block a downward strike from a sickle. The point stopped right above his face. "Your time with the humans has made you soft. You can not beat me."

Alucard wrenched the sickle away with his sword. "We'll see."

Sophia threw her blade at the Harpy. The monster moved out of the way and rushed the vampire. She hit Sophia dead on and knocked her back. The blade hit the ground a few feet from where Sophia landed. The red-head ran for it, but the Harpy was quicker. "No you don't." The Harpy taunted as she grabbed Sophia and threw her past the blade. The Harpy quickly picked her up by the throat and lifted her into the air. "Is that all the pretty little vampire can do?"

Sophia smirked and retrieved a knife from her boot and cut the Harpy across the chest. "I learned a few things since the last time we fought." The Harpy let her go. As soon as she landed she jumped up and tackled the Harpy to the ground before punching her in the face. "Time to rearrange those looks of yours." The Harpy shoved her off and got back into the air. The two females then prepared to attack again.

At the same time Drew circled Medusa. "Come on you ugly bitch, let's see what you got."

"I'll turn you into a statue." The monster screeched. "She fired an eye blast at Drew. The vampire side-stepped the blast as it flew past him and hit a lizard man.

"Talk about friendly fire." Drew said.

"I think I'll let you meet my pets." Medusa sneered. Two snakes jumped from her hair and slithered towards Drew. They jumped to bite only to have Drew cut them up. Medusa sent more snakes the Drew sliced apart. He then ran at Medusa and jumped over her head. As soon as he landed on her back he sunk his claws into her hide. Medusa screamed and tried to shake him off. She succeeded in knocking him off with her tail.

Drew landed and rolled to his feet. "That has to sting. Someone's going to need some band-aids."

Meanwhile Reis and the Death Knight sparred with each other, smashing their weapons together. "I see you are strong." The Death Knight said.

"So are you." Reis replied. They clashed weapons again. This time the Death Knight pushed the weapons down and backhanded Reis. Reis shook off the blow and punched the Death Knight back. Both let go of their weapons and began to punch each other. After several shots which dizzied them both grabbed their weapons and smashed them together again. "Something tells me we'll be at this all night." Reis said.

Eric swung his whip at Dracula. "This is for my parents you murdered."

"Don't blame me; blame your ancestors who cursed you with this destiny." Dracula said. "Now accept your fate and die." Dracula fired a ball of energy that Eric barely managed to dodge. Dracula then levitated and flew at Eric with his fingers extended. Eric quickly snapped his whip at Dracula and landed a hit. The vampire recoiled from the wound. "Ah, the Vampire Killer Whip. So you think you can master it? I will make sure you die before you can fully use its power."

"What are you talking about?" Eric said. "I already have."

Dracula laughed evilly. "You have not. You hold back because you are still afraid. You're fearful that you will loose." Dracula suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind a bewildered Eric. Eric turned only to get hit by the Count. "And your inexperience is showing. You think killing a few pathetic weaklings will prepare you to face me. It will take years before you are even near my level of power. It is a shame that your parents didn't train you sooner." Dracula began to slowly walk towards Eric. The young man struggled to his feet in a daze. As Dracula neared Eric quickly snapped the whip up and hit Dracula in the face.

The Count reeled back as Eric stood up and grinned. "You're too cocky. No matter my family beat you every time. You underestimated us." Eric wrapped his whip around Dracula's leg and yanked him off his feet. Eric then drew a knife that was strapped to his belt. "Time to end this!" Eric exclaimed as he dived at the vampire.

Dracula turned to mist just as Eric stabbed him. He reformed and clapped his hands. "Bravo on that futile attempt. My son has taught you well, be not well enough." Dracula charged Eric with blinding speed and rammed into him. Eric was sent flying several feet. Dracula advanced chuckling as Eric weakly snapped his whip. The Count grabbed the whip and tore it out of Eric's hand. He looked at the whip as it burned his hand and cast it aside. "How pathetic that the fate of your family lies with you. Now, it shall end."

Amanda saw the danger Eric was in and ran towards him. "Craig, Cheryl, Eric's in trouble! We have to help him!"

"We'll clear a path, you help him." Craig said. He and Cheryl began smashing through the enemies between them and Dracula.

Amanda got a clear shot at Dracula and fired several bolts. The projectiles hit Dracula, who turned and fired a bolt of his own with a look of disdain on his face. Amanda froze and almost got hit if it wasn't for Cheryl tackling her out of the way. The bolt slammed into a skeleton, shattering it. "Thanks." Amanda said.

"No problem. Just looking out for my future sister-in-law." Cheryl replied with a smile.

"What?" Amanda asked.

"Since it seems you are eager to die, I will show you what happens to those who interfere." Dracula said, extending his hand.

"Cheryl, Amanda, get out of there!" Craig hollered.

Alucard heard Craig yell and turned towards his father. "Oh no, I have to save them." He said. He knocked away Death's scythe and punched him in the face, sending the specter sprawling to the ground. Alucard rushed his father with his sword ready. Dracula sensed his son and turned to mist. After Alucard passed through him he reformed and gripped his son by the next as the Dhampir turned.

"You have gotten in my way for the last time." Dracula said. "I am finally going to do something I should have done long ago." Dracula squeezed his son's neck. He then felt intense pair shoot through his side.

"Let him go." Cheryl said, her sword imbedded in Dracula's side. She withdrew her sword, forcing Dracula to let go of Alucard and grip his wound. Craig and Amanda joined her as she faced the Count. "Now you're going to have to face us."

"So be it." Dracula sneered.

Gene slashed Minotaur across the face. The beast gave him an uppercut and sent the werewolf flying. Gene managed to land on his feet and looked up to see Minotaur charging him. Gene hurdled Minotaur in the nick of time. Minotaur tried to stop, but found he couldn't and yelled. Gene saw the direction that Minotaur was heading. "This is going to be fun."

Drew stared down Medusa and thought of his next move. He then heard a noise and looked past her. "You may want to turn around."

"Do you think I'm going to fall for one of your tricks?" Medusa scoffed. She heard the Minotaur's bellowing and turned just as the beast crashed into her. "Get off of me you idiot." She hissed at the dizzy Minotaur.

"I told you to turn around." Drew said.

Paul dove out of the way of the Bone Dragon's snapping jaws. "I'm getting tired of you." Paul smacked the beast in the head, a move that caused it to breathe fire at its target. Paul rolled out of the way and jumped back as the Bone Dragon brought its claw down at him. The Dragon prepared to spray fire at him again when Kristy's lance hit it in the eye socket.

"Hurry up and kill that thing." Kristy said.

"Thanks, I own you one." Paul said. He ran next to the Dragons left side and drove his ax into its ribs, cracking three. The monster swung its tail at him, but Paul blocked the shot. Kristy yanked her lance out of the Bone Dragon's eye and stabbed it the neck. The Dragon tried to claw at her but she got out of the way. "We really pissed if off." Paul said, joining her.

"At least it knows that we mean business." Kristy replied.

The Death Knight swung at Reis's head and missed. He then blocked one of Reis's strikes. "You are foolish to think that you can defeat me, young vampire."

Reis blocked a blow from the Knight. "Want to bet?" Reis pushed the Death Knight away and swung at his sword with tremendous force, knocking the sword out of the Knight's hands. He then grabbed the Death Knight. "I think it's time you got closer to your partners." He threw the stunned Knight at the Bone Dragon. The Knight slammed into the Dragon's right side, breaking several ribs. "That'll teach you to underestimate me." Reis said.

Paul whistled and turned to Reis. "Thanks for the assist."

Reis picked up his mace. "Who said I was helping you? He was just starting to piss me off."

Sophia threw her blade at the Harpy. The monster evaded the blade and kicked Sophia in the face. "Still think you can be me? You got lucky before, this time I …" Before she could finish Gene tackled her.

"Maybe you should see what's going on around you." Gene said. "You'll live longer."

The Harpy shrieked. "Get off of me you filthy mutt." She shoved him off her and got to her feet. "I'm going to neuter you."

"I think I'm the least of your problems." Gene said, pointing past her.

The Harpy was going to say something when a wolf with red fur bit into her arm. The Harpy screamed as she tried to get the wolf off her. The wolf let go and began to circle her. "So the little vampire turned into a wolf. It still won't help you." The Harpy sneered.

Dracula began to fight Cheryl, Amanda, and Craig. He found it difficult as each time he avoided one of their attacks the other two hit him. He soon found himself getting weaker. "Death, kill the Belmont boy."

"Yes my Lord." Death said.

Amanda ran towards Eric. "Leave him alone." She fired a few bolts, but they did not affect the specter. She got between him and Eric and charged up one more bolt. Before she could fire Alucard stepped in front of her and blocked Death's scythe.

"Check on Eric, I'll fight Death." Alucard ordered. He began to duel with Death. Cheryl saw Alucard fighting and threw one of her swords at Death. The blade sunk into his side as Death screamed. He pulled the sword out, giving Alucard enough time to slash the specter across the chest.

Amanda checked on Eric. "Are you OK, can you hear me?

Eric, who was still dazed, tried to shake out the cobwebs. "I feel like a truck ran over me. Where's Dracula?"

"Your brother and sister are fighting him." Amanda said.

"They have to get away, he's too strong." Eric said as he tried to stand up.

At the same time Dracula took advantage of Cheryl's distraction with Alucard to grab her by the throat. "It's foolish to throw away your weapon." Craig buried his sword into Dracula's side, but the Count batted him away. He then threw Cheryl at Alucard. Alucard only had time to prepare himself before Cheryl crashed into him. "Now that you are out of the way, it is time to finish what I started." Suddenly Eric's knife pierced Dracula's chest just above his heart. He looked towards where Eric was to find that the young Belmont had used the last of his strength to throw the knife. Dracula pulled the knife from his body and fell to his knees, his wounds finally having an effect. He looked at his minions to find them defeated or in trouble. "Death, get us out of here. Don't think this is over, next time you will all die."

Death nodded and opened portals near Dracula's minions. The monsters quickly retreated into the portals. Everyone breathed a sign of relief. Sophia turned back into her human form and spit out the Harpy's blood. She saw Craig and ran over to him. "Are you hurt badly?"

"I'm fine." Craig replied, picking himself up. "Whoa, what happened to you?" He said when he saw the blood around her mouth.

Sophia wiped her face. "I had a little snack, but I think I got food poisoning."

"Are you all right Cheryl?" Alucard asked.

Cheryl shook her head. "Yeah, given the circumstances. How's my brother?"

Amanda helped Eric up. "He'll be fine."

"Alucard, you were right." Eric said. "He was too strong. I'm not ready to fight him, none of us are."

"Then you must get stronger than him." Alucard said. "And we must be prepared for him to attack again."

"But how did he find us in the first place?" Paul asked.

"Isn't it obvious, we were followed." Reis said. "It must have been when you went to the city. One of his soldiers must have trailed us here. I bet Dracula was plotting this for days."

Gene surveyed the battleground. "The good news is that we're all alive. They could have crushed us all like bugs." Gene's ears picked up and he looked to his right.

"What is it now?" Kristy asked.

Gene smirked. "Leftovers." He tore towards the shadow of the dorm building, causing a lizard man to run for its life. Gene pounced on it. "Looks like we got a straggler. I bet he can tell us where his boss is."

Alucard walked over to the monster and crouched down. "You will tell me where my father is and how he found this place. If you don't you will die."

"It doesn't matter." The monster replied. "You will kill me anyway. I will never betray my master."

"Reis, Drew, interrogate this creature." Alucard ordered. "I want to know where my father is hiding. I must find Gregory; it is no longer safe here."

"I'm already here." Gregory said, approaching the group. "I saw the whole battle. Several of Dracula's minions tried to kill me. My assistance took care of them. I knew that eventually Dracula would find this place. I have another secure location ready. We can leave immediately."

Alucard nodded. "While we pack Reis and Drew will question the prisoner. I want this to be done within the hour. Those who need rest can take this opportunity to recover."

"Just one moment." Sophia said. She threw her blade at the roof of the dorm, cutting the Death Knight's crow in half. "Now we can go."

* * *

**Author's Notes: Another big, beautiful battle. Dracula finally flexes his muscles. One last chapter and this baby is over. Lot's of things going on and they all come to a head in the conclusion. You better check it out.**

_I'm not crazy; it's all the other people who are insane._

_Original_


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